Saban's 'son' Fitzpatrick kept it fun, 100 with Tide coach

Alabama head coach Nick Saban with his team as they prepare to take the field for warm ups before the LSU game at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Saturday November 4, 2017.

Minkah Fitzpatrick doesn’t fear Nick Saban.

That’s why the All-America safety talked to his college coach the way he did while at Alabama.

“I’m just real with him,” said Fitzpatrick when asked Thursday morning on ESPN’s "First Take" why his teammates called him Saban’s "son."

“I’m not scared of him and we have good, normal conversations. I try to clown with him. Make him laugh. Really have fun with him. He’s a normal dude. People don’t usually see him as that, but that’s what I see him as.”

After answering "First Take "host Molly Qerim’s question, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith jumped in and gave him opinion on why Fitzpatrick is “like a son” to Saban.

Nick Saban and Minkah Fitzpatrick (No. 29) developed a special bond over the last three years.

“You know why? Cause you can play,” Smith said. “OK? Scrubs don’t have that kind of relationship with Nick Saban. Am I lying? Am I lying?”

“I think Fitzpatrick and (Calvin Ridley) just down a little bit with the explosive testing not being quite as good as maybe some people thought it would be,” Kiper said.

The 6-foot, 1-inch, 201-pound Fitzpatrick ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds, but only had a 33-inch vertical jump and a broad jump of 10 feet.

“I think I could’ve improved my jumps and 40 was good, but not a lot of things (at the combine) are football,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s just testing. It’s not really testing how good of a football player you are.”